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Unlike Us 2: Understanding Social Media Monopolies and their Alternatives (this week in Amsterdam)
by Geert Lovink 06 Mar '12

06 Mar '12

Unlike Us 2: Understanding Social Media Monopolies and their Alternatives Date: March 8-10, 2012 Location: TrouwAmsterdam, Wibautstraat 127, Amsterdam Website: http://networkcultures.org/wpmu/unlikeus/ Book now at https://shop.ticketscript.com/channel/web2/get-dates/rid/7YKX5M9F/eid/12281… Contact: marc[at]networkcultures.org Unlike Us 2 is the second event on ‘alternatives in social media’, where artists, designers, scholars, activists and programmers gather. This international research network analyzes the economic and cultural aspects of dominant social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Through workshops, conferences, online dialogues and publications, the Unlike Us network intends to both analyze the economic and cultural aspects of dominant social media platforms and propagate the further development and proliferation of alternative, decentralized social media software. Whether or not we are in the midst of internet bubble 2.0, we can all agree that social media dominate internet and mobile use. The emergence of web-based user to user services, driven by an explosion of informal dialogues, continuous uploads and user generated content have greatly empowered the rise of participatory culture. At the same time, monopoly power, commercialization and commodification are also on the rise with just a handful of social media platforms dominating the social web. These two contradictory processes – both the facilitation of free exchanges and the commercial exploitation of social relationships – seem to lie at the heart of contemporary capitalism. On the one hand new media create and expand the social spaces through which we interact, play and even politicize ourselves; on the other hand they are literally owned by three or four companies that have phenomenal power to shape such interaction. Whereas the hegemonic Internet ideology promises open, decentralized systems, why do we, time and again, find ourselves locked into closed corporate environments? Why are individual users so easily charmed by these ‘walled gardens’? Do we understand the long-term costs that society will pay for the ease of use and simple interfaces of their beloved ‘free’ services? Unlike Us will ask fundamental and overarching questions about how to tackle these fast-emerging monopoly powers. Situated within the existing oligopoly of ownership and use, this inquiry will include the support of software alternatives and related artistic practices and the development of a common alternative vision of how the techno- social world might be mediated. Facebook makes everyone believe There Is No Alternative, but Unlike Us dares to differ. [8 March] Showcasing alternatives in social media: There is currently a multitude of decentralized social network software in the making which allows users greater autonomy to define with whom to share their data. Visit Unlike Us 2 and discover the latest alternatives (Lorea, Secushare, Social Swarm, Thimbl, TheGlobalSquare, Diaspora, Crabgrass, Social Swarm, Freedombox and more). The best way to undermine platform monopolies is to support alternative open source/free software. Get out of the Cloud, take control of your realm and install your own social network locally. Come along to find out more. [9-10 March] Conference themes: Social what? Defining the Social, Artistic Responses to Social Media, The Private in the Public, Software Matters, Pitfalls of Building Social Media Alternatives, Social Media Activism, Critique of Liberation Technology. Confirmed speakers and presenters: David M. Berry (UK), Frederik Zuiderveen Borgesius (NL), Philipp Budka (AT), Thomas Chenesau (FR), Jodi Dean (USA), Carolin Gerlitz (UK), Seda Guerses (TR/BE), Spideralex (ES), Anne Helmond (NL), Walter Langelaar (NL), Ganaele Langlois (CA), Carlo v. Loesch/lynx (DE), Caroline Nevejan (NL), Arnold Roosendaal (NL), Eleanor Saitta (USA), Max Schrems (AT), Elijah Sparrow (USA) and James Vasile (USA).

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CfP: Open Panel at EASST/4S 2012, The Construction of Social Computing: Design and Displacement of Hybrid Relationships
by Maurizio 06 Mar '12

06 Mar '12

Apologies for cross-posting --- The Construction of Social Computing: Design and Displacement of Hybrid Relationships Organizers: Maurizio Teli, Ahref Foundation, Italy, maurizio(a)ahref.eu Vincenzo D'Andrea, University of Trento, Italy, vincenzo.dandrea(a)unitn.it David Hakken, Indiana University, USA, dhakken(a)indiana.edu In the last few years, the label “Social Computing” (SC) has been increasingly used to identify the ensemble of computing applications developed in order to foster and sustain social relationships . The use of the label seems to imply that SC is engaging with hybrid socio-technical relationships, underlining a change in computer science. Nevertheless, SC is in line with the origin of computer science, in particular with the computing development program promoted in the '50s by Norbert Wiener, aiming at promoting a society that increases the “human use of human beings”. However, although many applications are labeled “social computing,” they are mainly commoditized, to generate profit for corporations, and they focus on a restricted set of application domains. Such practical displacement of the societal view of Wiener calls for a deep reflection based on an empirical perspective able to frame SC through an STS lens, for two main reasons. Firstly, SC is an academic and social construction, and its design and foundational discourses can be understood and questioned through an STS lens. Secondly, the use of the term SC builds constraints on how innovation can take place in the social arena of SC. Along with these premises, an STS lens can increase the understanding of the hybrid relationships designed and displaced by SC academic practices, as well as overcoming the constraints of SC discourses providing conceptual and methodological tools to design new kind of SC technologies. Taking this perspective, we ask for contributions addressing: 1) the academic and industrial construction of SC within and across disciplines; 2) the design of social relationships in SC initiatives and their displacement in SC use; 3) the engagement of STS researchers, lexicon, and methods, as a practice-based intervention in the design of SC technologies; 4) the facilitation of social inclusion in SC projects. Please submit your abstract electronically via the webpage of the conference: http://www.4sonline.org/meeting Deadline is the 18th March 2012. See you in Copenhagen!

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FW: [ciresearchers] Call for papers: JoCI The First Mile of Broadband Connectivity in Communities
by michael gurstein 05 Mar '12

05 Mar '12

-----Original Message----- From: ciresearchers-owner(a)vancouvercommunity.net [mailto:ciresearchers-owner@vancouvercommunity.net] On Behalf Of Susan O'Donnell Sent: Monday, March 05, 2012 5:01 PM To: ciresearchers(a)vancouvercommunity.net Subject: [ciresearchers] Call for papers: JoCI The First Mile of Broadband Connectivity in Communities Dear community informatics colleagues: Attached and below is the CfP for the upcoming special issue of JoCI: The First Mile of Broadband Connectivity in Communities. For this special issue, we are looking for community stories, vision statements and research articles related to "First Mile" activities in communities, particularly rural and remote communities, around the world. Traditionally, the "last mile" of broadband refers to the final leg of connectivity from the telecommunications provider to the home. The First Mile concept turns that around - it refers to policies and practices that support communities to invest in, own and build their local broadband infrastructure and to shape and use it to meet community needs. The First Mile is an alternative to the traditional corporate, institutional, and urban-centered telecommunications approaches. Please get in touch with me or one of the other journal co-authors if you have any questions or ideas for contributions. Thanks, Susan -- Dr. Susan O'Donnell, Researcher and Adjunct Professor Department of Sociology, University of New Brunswick PO Box 1122, Fredericton, NB, Canada E3B 5C2 susanodo(a)unb.ca Office: 506-444-0374 Cell: 506-238-7572 http://videocom.firstnation.ca http://firstmile.ca Call for papers - Journal of Community Informatics (JoCI) Special Issue: The First Mile of Broadband Connectivity in Communities http://firstmile.ca Please distribute this call for papers to your colleagues. Articles will be published in English and French. The Journal of Community Informatics (http://ci-journal.net) is concerned with research on the uses and appropriations of information and communication technologies (ICT) that enable communities to "improve their processes, achieve their objectives and overcome the 'digital divides' that exist both within and between communities." Since its first issues, in 2004, the journal has built an excellent reputation among academics, professionals and policy-makers involved in ICT initiatives aiming at the empowerment of citizens and communities. The Journal of Community Informatics is preparing a special issue on the "First Mile" of broadband connectivity in communities, scheduled for publication in 2013. We invite contributions from community members, researchers, graduate students, government policy makers, policy analysts, activists, practitioners, community developers, project and program leaders and staff, technology developers and technicians. Traditionally, the "last mile" of broadband refers to the final leg of connectivity from the telecommunications provider to the home. The First Mile concept turns that around - it refers to policies and practices that support communities to invest in, own and build their local broadband infrastructure and to shape and use it to meet community needs. The First Mile is an alternative to the traditional corporate, institutional, and urban-centered telecommunications approaches. In Canada, the First Mile project is documenting cases of First Nations communities connected to broadband in ways that support sustainable, locally-driven services and activities (http://firstmile.ca) We would like to share Canadian First Mile-related research and stories with the international community and learn from First Mile, parallel and associated experiences internationally. This JoCI Special Issue will accept contributions in either English or French and will publish articles in either or both languages. The deadline for abstracts is May 31, 2012. What we are looking for: Contributions exploring the First Mile of broadband connectivity and parallel or associated experiences in Canada and internationally. Contributions based on accepted abstracts can be: Original research (maximum 4,000 words) Vision statements, theoretical position papers (maximum 4,000 words) Case studies / community stories (500 to 1,500 words) Contributions can focus on these and related topics: Case studies of First Mile initiatives or parallel / associated experiences in communities Theories about First Mile initiatives and related experiences in communities Community alternatives to corporate telecommunications services Policy frameworks and public funding programs structured to support community-owned construction and operation of broadband infrastructure How communities are applying principles of OCAP (ownership, control, access and possession) to the data flowing on their local networks Experiences of strategic partnerships that sustain these community initiatives Community ownership and delivery of community services using broadband Community economic development using broadband networks The economic business case to sustain the operation and maintenance of the community network and the applications The supports, partners, infrastructure and local capacity necessary to sustain First Mile operations Public / government procurement policies and programs for services that support the First Mile telecom network Challenges and opportunities for community-owned local broadband networks Community-based approaches for researching First Mile initiatives Timelines: Anytime: Email any of the guest editors with questions May 31, 2012: Deadline for abstracts - abstracts must include author(s) and affiliation(s) and an outline of the contribution (maximum 200 words). Email abstracts to Susan O'Donnell (susanodo(a)unb.ca) June 30: Decisions to authors September 30: Deadline for authors to submit completed contributions October-November 2012: Peer-review November: Decisions, requests for revisions sent to authors January 2013: Authors submit final versions for publication January-February 2013: Translation of articles into French / English April 2013: JoCI Special Issue published online Guest co-editors: Susan O'Donnell (susanodo(a)unb.ca) - University of New Brunswick (www.unb.ca) Brian Beaton (brian.beaton(a)knet.ca) & Brian Walmark (brian.walmark(a)knet.ca) - Keewaytinook Okimakanak (www.knet.ca) Tim Whiteduck (TWhiteduck(a)cepn-fnec.com) - First Nations Education Council (www.cepn-fnec.com) Kevin Burton - (admin(a)firstnationhelp.com) - Atlantic Canada's First Nation Help Desk (www.firstnationhelp.com) Rob McMahon (rma29(a)sfu.ca) & Richard Smith (smith(a)sfu.ca) - Simon Fraser University (www.sfu.ca) Michael Gurstein (gurstein(a)gmail.com) - Centre for Community Informatics Research, Development and Training (www.communityinformatics.net) William McIver, Jr. (Bill.McIver(a)nrc.gc.ca) - National Research Council (www.nrc.ca) & University of New Brunswick (www.unb.ca Deadline for abstracts: May 31, 2012 Email abstracts to: Susan O'Donnell susanodo(a)unb.ca

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CFP - Media, Technology & Society Conference 2012 - Infosocial
by Ryan Whalen 05 Mar '12

05 Mar '12

My apologies for cross posting. I'm writing to invite submissions to the Media, Technology and Society program's graduate student conference titled "Infosocial: Where information and the social sciences collide." The CFP details are at the conference website (http://bit.ly/InfoSocialCFP) and follow in the text below. Please feel free to distribute widely and pass the word along to graduate students and programs. *Call for Papers* *InfoSocial: Where information and the social sciences collide.* A graduate student conference hosted by the Media, Technology, and Society (MTS) program at Northwestern University As the information infrastructure of contemporary social life becomes increasingly complex and visible, disparate modes of inquiry converge. We are surrounded by a proliferation of data that provides a unique window into a wide array of individual and collective behavior. The changes in the visibility and availability of such data have challenged the technical and conceptual boundaries of the social sciences. This, in turn, has triggered a growth in interdisciplinary collaboration, and in methodological and theoretical innovation. Our conference aims to contribute to these collaborative and innovative developments by bringing together graduate student scholarship from across the academic spectrum. We seek papers authored by graduate students that address relevant topics within and across disciplines, including contributions from communication and media studies, sociology, psychology, computer science, science and technology studies, information science, political science, and anthropology, among others. Possible submission topics include (but are not limited to): • Linked data/semantic web and society • Privacy and information management • Measuring online behavior • Collective action and crowd sourcing • Internet skill and literacy • Open source and innovation • Complexity and technological change • History and information • Information at work • Educational technology • Networks and the information society • Methodological developments *Important Information:* Extended abstract submission deadline: April 15, 2012 Acceptance notification date: May 15, 2012 Conference Dates: October 12-13, 2012 Location: Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois Conference URL: http://bit.ly/InfoSocialCFP Email: mtsconference(a)u.northwestern.edu To submit, please visit http://bit.ly/NUMTSconference and upload an extended abstract of no more than 500 words. Note: There will be no fee to attend and/or participate in the conference. Meals will be provided and interested attendees may request to be housed with Northwestern students. While we can make no guarantees, we will do our best to accommodate requests. Best Regards, -- Ryan Whalen PhD Student - Media, Technology & Society Northwestern University School of Communication JD Student - Northwestern Law ryanwhalen.com 773.800.0345

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Call For Paper: Special issue of iCS on the Internet, Social Networks and Civic Engagement in Chinese Societies
by wenhong chen 05 Mar '12

05 Mar '12

Dear colleagues, please feel free to forward it to interested groups. best, Wenhong ********************* CALL FOR PAPERS ********************* The Internet, Social Networks and Civic Engagement in Chinese Societies A Special Issue for Information, Communication & Society (iCS) Guest editor: Wenhong Chen Aim and Scope The Internet and digital media have become conduits and locales where millions of Chinese share information and engage in creative expression and social participation. The Arab Spring and the relative lack of response in China highlight the importance of understanding the Internet implications in specific social context. Yet, compared to their growing prevalence and significance, research on the contingent, non-linear, and sometimes paradoxical impacts of digital media and technologies in Chinese societies remains theoretically underdeveloped and empirically understudied. Taking an eclectic approach, this special issue aims to advance a balanced and context-rich understanding of how digital media and technologies afford the construction of social networks and participation in civic engagement in Chinese societies including mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and the global Chinese Diaspora. It aims to reveal both the transformative power and the limitations of the Internet and other new communication technologies. It welcomes work with diverse theoretical and empirical approaches. Contributors are encouraged to examine the implications of the Internet and other new communication technologies for social networks and civic engagement, including but not limited to: How do digital technologies and media allow actors to form and maintain social networks on- and offline? What are the patterns and structure of Chinese social networks straddling boundaries of geography, identities, and issues in the Internet age? How do access to and memberships in such networks vary by class, gender, generation, urban-rural gaps as well as differential digital media skills and literacy? How does digital mediated communication contribute to an informed, connected, and engaged public in Chinese societies? To what extent do digital media and technologies facilitate transparency and enhance the visibility of oppressed groups, in particular in comparison with print and broadcast media under tighter government control? To what extent do glocalized, transnational networks affect access and mobilization of resources for social development and change? Logistics and Timeline A 300-500 word abstract should be sent via email to the special issue editor by May 15, 2012. Initial screening decisions will be made by May 30, 2012. Authors of accepted abstracts should submit a full paper to http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rics by August 15, 2012. Authors must specify that the submission is for the special issue on The Internet, Social Networks and Civic Engagement in Chinese Societies. All submission will be subject to the journal's standard peer review process. Authors should follow the Information for Contributors of Manuscripts as published in iCS website. Information about the journal can be found at www.informaworld.com/ics The special issue will be published in September 2013. For inquiries or submission of full papers, please contact Wenhong Chen Assistant Professor Department of Radio-TV-Film, College of Communication University of Texas at Austin 1 University Station A0800 Austin, TX 78712 T: 512-471-4952 F: 512-471-4077 wenhong_chen(a)mail.utexas.edu Cheers, Wenhong Wenhong Chen Assistant Professor Department of Radio-TV-Film, College of Communication 1 University Station A0800, CMA 6.136 University of Texas at Austin 2504 WHITIS AVE STOP A0800 AUSTIN, TX 78712-1067 T: 512-471-4952 F: 512-471-4077 wenhong_chen(a)mail.utexas.edu

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CFP. DIS 2012 WORKSHOP. Food for Thought: Designing for Critical Reflection on Food Practices
by Jaz Choi 05 Mar '12

05 Mar '12

Apologies for cross-posting. CFP. DIS 2012 WORKSHOP. Food for Thought: Designing for Critical Reflection on Food Practices Newcastle, UK June 11, 2012 http://www.urbaninformatics.net/workshop/ffthought This workshop is a continuation and extension to the successful past workshops including 2011 Communities and Technologies Food(ing): Between Human-Computer and Human-Food-Experience; 2009 [4]; OZCHI workshop, Hungry 24/7? HCI Design for Sustainable Food Culture and Sustainable Interaction with Food, Technology, and the City [3], and Food and Interaction Design: Designing for Food in Everyday Life [5]. The workshop addresses the opportunities and challenges for the design of digital interactive systems that engage individuals in critical reflection on their everyday food practices – including designing for engagement in more environmentally aware, socially inclusive, and healthier behaviour. These three themes represent the focus of much recent HCI work related to food. The proposed workshop aims to further the conversation on these themes through understanding specifically how the process of critical reflection can be encouraged by interactive technology. While the focus will be on food as an application area, the intention is to also explore, more generally, how the process of critical reflection can be facilitated through interactive technology. The workshop will include a design session, where participants will be asked to respond to the challenging local issue of alcohol and fast food consumption, to create innovative design solutions that facilitate people’s engagement in critical reflection on their food consumption, ultimately leading to broader socio-cultural transformation of Newcastle-upon-Tyne’s foodscape. The workshop will provide a unique forum to discuss existing theoretical and pragmatic approaches, and to envision novel ways to design technology that encourages sustained critical reflection. Interested participants should submit position papers to Jaz Hee-jeong Choi (h.choi [at] qut.edu.au<http://qut.edu.au/>, outlining their work, brief biographies, and what they would like to gain from the workshop. Submissions should be no longer than 2 pages, in PDF Format, and styled using the DIS paper format (http://dis2012.org/dis2012format.doc) Participants will be selected based on their expertise and to ensure overall disciplinary and geo-cultural diversity. Deadline for submissions: March 16, 2012 Notification of acceptance: April 16, 2012 Workshop: June 11, 2012 We look forward to hearing from you! Jaz, Rob, Conor, and John Workshop Organisers ---- dr. jaz hee-jeong choi urban informatics lab institute for creative industries and innovation // e: h.choi(a)qut.edu.au<applewebdata://59C14C6D-7E95-41A5-AE1A-09F34D318230/h.choi@qut.edu.au> // w: www.nicemustard.com<http://www.nicemustard.com/> // p: +617 3138 8190 // m: +61 433 167 151

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Submission deadline for CATaC'12 extended + URGENT housing information
by Charles Ess 05 Mar '12

05 Mar '12

Dear Colleagues, In response to continuing requests, we are extending the submission deadline for CATaC'12 to March 31, 2012, with final notification of acceptance by April 5, 2012. Deadline for earlybird registration, as noted below, is April 20, 2012. We continue to solicit either full papers (10-15 formatted pages), short papers (3-5 formatted pages), and/or panel proposals. To submit a paper and/or panel proposal, please find your way to <www.catacconference.org>, click on the Submissions tab, and then find the red-lettered "Click here to submit your papers and panel proposals" which will take you to the submission site. The conference website has also been updated with new information regarding travel, accommodations, and conference venue. (These are accessed via links on the right side of the page.) Please see the fee schedule and earlybird deadline information below. The conference registration page on the website will open before the week is out. PLEASE ALSO NOTICE: FOR THOSE CONSIDERING ATTENDING CATaC'12, we strongly encourage you to go ahead and book your preferred accommodations *NOW*. CATaC'12 will be simply one among many (and in some cases, much larger) conferences taking place in Aarhus in June and accommodation possibilities are already becoming quite tight. We are fortunate to have a block of rooms for CATaC participants reserved in the Hotel Mercur at Viby Torv (<http://www.hotel-mercur.dk/uk/>). The hotel, however, is a convenient but 25-minute bus ride from the conference venue. * Several other possibilities, closer in town, are listed and linked to from the accommodation page.* Bookings made now, of course, can be cancelled later - usually up until a day or two before arrival - without penalty. Even if you are not certain of attending - e.g., you need to await final decision on a proposal, etc. - it would be better to book now and decide to cancel later (should it come to that) than encounter every-growing difficulty in acquiring a room reservation. Conference Fees Discounted Conference Fee - $515 Regular Conference Fee - $565 (after 20 April 2012) Deductions Presenting author - deduct $20 (One author only per presented paper - presenter discount does not apply to Student Fee) Reviewer - deduct $20 (Reviewer discount does not apply to Student Fee) Student Fee (full-time students, ID required, no further discount on student fee if author/reviewer) Discounted Student Fee - $400 Regular Student Fee - $450 (after 20 April 2012) We look forward to welcoming you to Aarhus this coming June. On behalf of the organizing committee, Charles Ess (Media Studies, Aarhus University, Denmark), Chair Fay Sudweeks (Professor Emerita, Murdoch University, Australia), honorary chair Herbert Hrachovec (University of Vienna, Austria) Leah Macfadyen (University of British Columbia, Canada) Jose Abdelnour Nocera (University of West London, UK) Kenneth Reeder (University of British Columbia, Canada) Ylva Hård af Segerstad (Gothenburg University, Gothenburg, Sweden) Michele M. Strano (Bridgewater College, Virginia, USA) Andra Siibak (University of Tartu, Estonia) Maja van der Velden (University of Oslo)

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CFP: Panel in Australia - Social lives of and on computers, technology and the internet
by Jonathan Marshall 03 Mar '12

03 Mar '12

If anyone, is from Australia or feels like it might be good to visit Australia for an Anthropology conference in the last quarter of the year, then please consider submitting a paper by early May for the following panel at ‘Culture and Contest in a Material World’ the Australian Anthropological Society Conference 2012, 26th to 28th September 2012, University of Queensland, St. Lucia (Brisbane) Australia. P11 Social lives of and on computers, technology and the internet Convenor: Jonathan Marshall (University of Technology, Sydney) The material basis of many social interactions throughout the world is provided by computer software or other forms of technology such as mobile phones, local two-way radio and so on. It is even possible that the material structures of communication form the ‘new’ infrastructure of global information capitalism. This relatively new situation opens up many ways of thinking about anthropology and what it can contribute to the world. The panel invites people to reflect upon the interaction of people, culture and communication within these forms of materiality. Questions that could be considered include: What happens to the ‘locale’ of communication, or indeed what happens to conceptions of the local? How do these forms of communication subvert, reinforce and extend existing cultural and social modes of action or understanding? Can what seems to be an extension or reinforcement, also induce disruption? How is the technology of communication and labour designed and implemented? How is technology changed by its users consciously or unconsciously? What are the social dynamics of software? What kinds of social organisations form ‘around’ communication technologies? What are the dynamics of living online? What are the social experiences of international call centre workers? What are the myths and motifs that are growing up around the technology of communication? What does all this tell us about the materiality, or ‘material base’ of socio-culture? Both primarily theoretical and completely ethnographic-descriptive papers are welcome. Please submit your abstracts by email to Jonathan Marshall jon.marshall(a)uts.edu.au by Friday, 4th May 2012. More Panels from the same conference at: http://www.uq.edu.au/aasconf2012/panels (Please note the panel list is not yet complete as the call for panels is still open) Please further note, as additional attractions, the keynote speakers for the conference (not for the panel) include: Genevieve Bell director of User Interaction and Experience in Intel Labs, author of *Divining the Digital Future: Mess and Mythology in Ubiquitous Computing*. Topic still to be announced. & Thomas Hylland Eriksen who will be talking about interconnectedness in the contemporary world. UTS CRICOS Provider Code: 00099F DISCLAIMER: This email message and any accompanying attachments may contain confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, do not read, use, disseminate, distribute or copy this message or attachments. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this message. Any views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender, except where the sender expressly, and with authority, states them to be the views of the University of Technology Sydney. Before opening any attachments, please check them for viruses and defects. Think. Green. Do. Please consider the environment before printing this email.

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Switch: National Culture in the Digital Age CFP - 12-14 October 2012 Switch: National Culture in the Digital Age CFP - 12-14 October 2012
by William Burke 03 Mar '12

03 Mar '12

*Switch: National Culture in the Digital Age CFP - 12-14 October 2012* How will national cultures survive in the digital age? Will they be subsumed in the centripetal pull of global monoculture? Or will counter-currents and hybrid combinations thrive in a transmedia world? 2012 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of RTÉ TV – Ireland’s public television network charged with broadcasting the nation to itself: ‘a window and mirror to an evolving nation’. This year also sees the end of analogue television transmission in Ireland, marking another milestone in the nation’s switchover to digital. Beyond technological advances, this switch from existing communication models to convergent networks may well have a far-reaching impact on the idea of the nation as a finite and highly centralized construct. Against the backdrop of this transition the Huston School of Film & Digital Media, NUI Galway will hold a three-day conference to explore the impact of digital technologies on national culture in Ireland and elsewhere. A central consideration of this conference will be how changes in communication and creative practices reposition national culture – in its broadest sense - in a digital age. Since its establishment in 2003 the Huston School of Film & Digital Media has been at the forefront of digital media research. In 2006 the school introduced an MA in Digital Media and a symposium on digital narratives was held in 2007. In 2011 the school funded twelve Digital Arts and Humanities PhD students with the Moore Institute. Papers are invited that discuss any aspect of National Culture in the Digital Age, including, but not limited to, the following: A) Convergence Culture Papers are invited that consider how old and new media collide, compete and work together in this era of media and technological convergence. Topics might include digital archives, approaches to the digital humanities, online newspapers, video on demand and ebooks. B) Participation Some see the web as a utopian realisation of the public sphere. Others suggest that it simply mirrors and reinforces real world inequalities. Papers are sought which consider this tension in relation to Ireland in the digital age. Topics might include: Piracy, Globalisation, Cultural Distribution and Access, The Digital Divide, Social Networking, Education, Electronic Tribes and Citizen Journalism. C) Narrative Do the possibilities offered by digital technologies (e.g. remixes, hyperlinks and open world gaming) constitute a shift away from traditional narratives to new forms of storytelling? D) Medium Specificity In an era where technologies convergence and audiences are migratory have the boundaries between unique means of expression (e.g. film, theatre and literature) begun to dissolve? Papers are invited that consider this development in relation to national cultural production. The conference will be held on 12-14 October 2012. Please submit abstracts of no more than 300 words, an academic bio and contact details to the organisers Liam Burke and Tony Tracy: irishdigitalculture(a)gmail.com by 4 May 2012. Papers will be 20 minutes and panels will be thematically linked. It is the intention of the organisers to publish an edited collection, which will include articles from this conference.

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Italian STS conference deadline extension - INTERNET AND NEW PRODUCTIVE PARADIGMS
by Stefano De Paoli 02 Mar '12

02 Mar '12

Hello list, If someone was interested in submitting but did not have the time to prepare the abstract, the deadline has been extended until March 11. Abstracts (in Italian or English) should be sent as email attachment (as MS word or Rich Text Format) to the track’s coordinators (and carbon copied to 4convegnosts(a)gmail.com) by March 1, 2012. Abstracts with a maximum length of 500 words should contain the title, author's name, affiliation and contact details including e-mail. Further information on the conference on: www.stsitalia.org TRACK: INTERNET AND NEW PRODUCTIVE PARADIGMS: THE STS CONTRIBUTION Convernors: Stefano De Paoli (Fondazione <ahref, Trento, stefano(a)ahref.eu) Cristiano Storni (University of Limerick, cristiano.storni(a)ul.ie) Maurizio Teli (Fondazione <ahref, Trento, maurizio(a)ahref.eu) The exponential diffusion of the Internet on a global scale shows the emergence of new and socio-technical arrangements that seem to call into question our traditional separation between production and consumption. For many, we are witnessing the emergence and consolidation of a completely new production paradigm where production processes are decentralised, distributed among an undisclosed mass of actors often proactive, sometimes without a predictable path. The examples of this grow daily: Wikipedia, free and open source software and hardware, folksonomies, crowdsourcing platforms, online hacktivism, Do-it-Yourself communities, and so on. New concepts have been developed in an attempt to capture these new practices and these new socio-technical arrangements: in the late 1970s, Toffler (1980) theorized the emergence of the prosumer, both producer and consumer of goods. This phenomenon of convergence between the producer and consumer has stimulated research to generate new concepts such as "wikinomics (Tapscott and Williams, 2006)," commons-based peer production "(Benkler, 2006)," produsage "(Bruns, 2008), and ideas like the Hack-tivism (Auty, 2004) or Mash-ups technology (Hartmann et al. 2006). At the same time, however, we are witnessing the emergence of criticisms that highlight that these innovative aspects are the perpetuation, more or less obvious, of the traditional capitalist logic. This seems to fuel disputes around the themese of control, surveillance, exploitation of intellectual property management, deskilling, etc. (Lash, 2002, Terranova, 2000, De Paoli and Storni, 2011) Instead of taking the emergence of the new production paradigm as a matter of fact, the goal of this track is to describe and understand the practices and dynamics that characterize the sociotechnical collectives behind the phenomena mentioned above, and discuss how they help us to rethink not only the traditional division of labour between production and consumption, but mostly what we mean with the terms work, production, consumption, and property (commons) in our information society. In this sense to invite contributions and case studies in different areas to discuss, but are not limited to: - the role of STS in the study of new emerging practices in the information society; - how to rethink and/or deconstruct empirically the concepts of production, consumption, property, work and good: debates, controversies and new definitions; - doing and undoing the boundaries between production and consumption (or design and use); - new conceptions of labor and its distribution; - Do-it-Yourself and Do-it-with-Others: new practices? References Auty, C., 2004, “Political Hacktivism: tool of the underdog or scourge of cyberspace?” in Aslib proc: new information perspectives, Vol. 56, No. 4, pp. 212-22 Benkler, Y, 2006, The wealth of Networks: how social production transform markets and freedom. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. Bruns, A., 2008, Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life and Beyond: From production to produsage. New York: Peter Lang. De Paoli S. and Storni C, 2011, “Produsage in hybrid networks: sociotechnical skills in the case of Arduino”. New Review of Hypermedia and Multimedia, 17(1), 31-52. Hartmann, B. et al., 2006, Hacking, Mashing, Gluing: A Study of Opportunistic Design and Development, Technical Report, Stanford University Computer Science Department. Lash, Scott. 2002. Critique of Information. London: Sage Tapscott, D. and Williams, A. 2006, Wikinomics: how mass collaboration changes everything. New York: Portfolio. Toffler, A., 1980, The Third Wave. New York: Morrow. -- ---- Crimes and punishments in Virtual Worlds http://www.springerlink.com/content/n4m858m182677h44/ Produsage, ANT & Skills http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a935694592~frm=titl…

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